Bowerbird chic

The first thing I see when I approach Holy Kitsch’s new Newtown store is a framed print that reads ‘I Love the Shit Out of You’. Surrounding it is a melting Dali clock (that actually works), two pink flamingos, a vintage wooden Pinocchio and fairy lights galore. I say to myself: ‘I think I’m gonna like it here.’

And indeed I do. But be warned: entering this store could potentially induce an LSD flashback, because the interior feels more than a little like Frida Kahlo on acid.

Co-owners Noni Daniels and Phillip Masters are long-term kitsch aficionados who joined forces in order to expand their market stalls into a store. Their initial offering – a tiny surreal chocolate box of kitsch treats in Surry Hills – has been successful enough to enable them to open this second, larger, store. (You can also order many of their wares off the website.)

It’s a great place for unique gifts. In one trip I spot the perfect birthday presents for, respectively, a friend who fancies tacky religious iconography and a pirate-lover with a penchant for cunning literary puns. Maybe your friends aren’t as weird as mine, but in any case, who couldn’t use a Día de los Muertos diorama featuring a band of skeletons? I mean, really?